Server, method of controlling server, and program

ABSTRACT

Provided is a system that includes circuitry that transmits first image data to a second communication terminal in response to a first request for image transmission from a first communication terminal; transmits second image data to the first communication terminal in response to a second request for image transmission from the second communication terminal; and transmits, in a case that the first request for image transmission and the second request for image transmission are a predetermined combination, third image data corresponding to the predetermined combination to the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/395,395, filed Aug. 5, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 16/151,806 filed Oct. 4, 2018 (now U.S. Pat. No.11,115,495 issued Sep. 7, 2021), which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/836,458 filed Aug. 26, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No.10,122,821 issued Nov. 6, 2018), which is a continuation application ofPCT Application No. PCT/JP2014/055883 filed Feb. 27, 2014, which claimsthe benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-039273filed Feb. 28, 2013, the entire contents of each of which areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to a server, a method of controlling a server,and a program. In particular, this disclosure relates to a server in acommunication system that implements exchange of images, to a method ofcontrolling such a server, and to a program executed on a communicationterminal that communicates with such a server.

BACKGROUND

Techniques are known for using a communication terminal such as a mobilephone or smart phone for message exchange, such as chat, with anothercommunication terminal (for example, see JP 2010-140083 A (PTL 1)). Muchof the application software (application) used in such techniques canexchange relatively short text simply and is provided with a userinterface that makes message exchange with the other party easy tofollow.

Some such applications also allow for the exchange of images as well astext messages. Images exchanged in this way include not only images shotby the user but also images of a variety of characters, illustrations,and the like that are prepared in advance by the application provider orthe like and are acquirable by the user.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   PTL 1: JP 2010-140083 A

SUMMARY Technical Problem

Conventional message exchange techniques go no further than the exchangeof text, images, and the like.

Therefore, in light of this background, it could be helpful to provide aserver in a communication system, a method of controlling a server, anda program that can stimulate the interest of users that exchangemessages and increase the users' motivation to exchange messages.

Solution to Problem

A disclosed system for resolving the above issues is a system thatincludes circuitry that transmits first image data to a secondcommunication terminal in response to a first request for imagetransmission from a first communication terminal; transmits second imagedata to the first communication terminal in response to a second requestfor image transmission from the second communication terminal; andtransmits, in a case that the first request for image transmission andthe second request for image transmission are a predeterminedcombination, third image data corresponding to the predeterminedcombination to the first communication terminal and the secondcommunication terminal.

Advantageous Effect

The disclosed server, method of controlling a server, and program canstimulate the interest of users that exchange messages and increase theusers' motivation to exchange messages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system according toEmbodiment 1;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an example of tables stored in a memory of acommunication terminal;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a table stored in a memory of a server;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of image data stored in the memory of theserver;

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram at the time of image exchange in thecommunication system;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an example of a first image displayed on adisplay of the communication terminal;

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate an example of a second image displayed on adisplay of the communication terminal;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a third image displayed on a display ofthe communication terminal;

FIG. 9 illustrates another example of tables stored in the memory of theserver; and

FIG. 10A to 10E illustrate an example of operations by a communicationterminal according to Embodiment 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following describes embodiments.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system according toEmbodiment 1. As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the communication system 1according to Embodiment 1 includes a first communication terminal 10, asecond communication terminal 20, and a server 30 (message exchangeserver 30). The server 30 in the communication system 1 provides afunction that allows for message exchange between a plurality ofcommunication terminals, such as the first communication terminal 10 andthe second communication terminal 20, on which a message exchangeapplication or the like is running. The number of communicationterminals included in the communication system 1 is not limited to twoand may be any number. As a typical example of communication in thecommunication system 1, however, the following describes the case of twocommunication terminals, i.e. the first communication terminal 10 andthe second communication terminal 20.

First, the structure of the first communication terminal 10 and thesecond communication terminal 20 is described.

In the communication system 1, the first communication terminal 10 andthe second communication terminal 20 exchange text and images via theserver 30 by executing a message exchange application or the like. Inparticular, when the first communication terminal 10 and the secondcommunication terminal 20 exchange images, first an image is selected onone of the communication terminals by user operation from among imagesprovided by the message exchange application. This communicationterminal then transmits a request for image transmission correspondingto the selected image to the server 30. Upon receiving the request forimage transmission, the server 30 transmits image data corresponding tothe request for image transmission to at least the other communicationterminal. Upon receiving the image data, the other communicationterminal displays an image that is rendered based on the image data. Inthis way, in the communication system 1, an image selected by one of theusers on one of the communication terminals can be displayed so as to bevisible by the other user on the other communication terminal.

The images exchanged between the first communication terminal 10 and thesecond communication terminal 20 may be any images, such as anillustration of a character appearing in an animated cartoon, a comicbook, or the like. A wide variety of forms of these images isconceivable: photographed images; edited versions of photographedimages; images not only of people but also of animals, imaginarycreatures, or the like; images not only of animate creatures, but also avariety of objects such as vehicles; depictions of letters; and thelike. Furthermore, these images may be still images, or for example,short animated videos or the like.

It is assumed that these images are exchanged as one form of messageexchange between users of communication terminals, and the exchangedimages are preferably images that suggest an emotion or the like of theusers transmitting the images. For example, the images preferablyexpress human emotions, such as images of a character in a popular comicbook looking happy, sad, angry, apologetic, or the like. Images thatconvey a message, such as a feeling of gratitude or an apology, are alsopreferable. When the transmitted image is not an image of a human,animal, or other animate creature, then in order to suggest the emotionor the like of the user transmitting the image, the image may forexample be a personification of an object other than an animatecreature.

For the sake of convenience, the image selected by the user on the firstcommunication terminal 10 and transmitted to the second communicationterminal 20 via the server 30 is referred to below as a “first image”.The request for image transmission transmitted from the firstcommunication terminal 10 to the server 30 is referred to as a “firstrequest for image transmission”. The image selected by the user on thesecond communication terminal 20 and transmitted to the firstcommunication terminal 10 via the server 30 is referred to below as a“second image”. The request for image transmission transmitted from thesecond communication terminal 20 to the server 30 is referred to as a“second request for image transmission”.

The first communication terminal 10 includes a communication interface11, display 12, user interface 13, memory 14, and control processor 15.In general, while a message exchange application or the like is running,the first communication terminal 10 transmits text that is input by theuser, an image photographed or selected by the user, or the like toanother communication terminal, such as the second communicationterminal 20, via the server 30. In general, while the message exchangeapplication or the like is running, the first communication terminal 10also receives, via the server 30, data of text, an image, or the liketransmitted from another communication terminal, such as the secondcommunication terminal 20, to the server 30 and displays the receiveddata on the display 12. A configuration may also be adopted so that whenthe message exchange application is not running on the firstcommunication terminal 10, a notification is displayed on the firstcommunication terminal 10 to indicate that data of text, video, or thelike have been transmitted to the first communication terminal 10 fromanother communication terminal.

The communication interface 11 communicates with the server 30 with aconnection that is wireless, wired, or both. Specifically, via controlby the control processor 15, the communication interface 11 transmitsthe first request for image transmission and the like to the server 30.The communication interface 11 also receives image data and the liketransmitted from the server 30. The request for image transmission andimage data are further described below. In the communication system 1 ofthis embodiment, when the first communication terminal 10 exchangesmessages with another communication terminal, such as the secondcommunication terminal 20, the communication interface 11 transmits andreceives, via the server 30, text data of the messages being exchangedwith the other communication terminal. In this case, the communicationinterface 11 transmits a request for text transmission to the server 30and receives, from the server 30, text data transmitted by the othercommunication terminal.

The display 12 may be configured using a liquid crystal display, organicEL display, or the like. For example when transmitting an image to thesecond communication terminal 20, the display 12 displays a plurality ofimages to prompt the user to select the image to transmit. Upon thefirst communication terminal 10 receiving image data from the server 30,the display 12 renders an image based on the image data transmitted fromthe server 30 and displays the image. When the first communicationterminal 10 exchanges messages with another communication terminal suchas the second communication terminal 20, the display 12 also displaystext and the like based on the text data of the messages exchanged withthe other communication terminal.

The user interface 13 may be configured by any type of keys or buttons,by a touch panel, or the like. The user interface 13 accepts operationinput by the user, for example when exchanging messages with anothercommunication terminal, and detects an input signal generated based onthe operation input. The user interface 13 also transmits, to thecontrol processor 15, the input signal detected based on operation inputby the user. Specifically, the user interface 13 accepts operation inputin which the user selects an image displayed on the display 12 andtransmits an input signal indicating selection of the image to thecontrol processor 15. In the case of the user interface 13 being a touchpanel, the user interface 13 can accept operation input in which theuser touches (or taps) a position corresponding to the area of an imagedisplayed on the display 12 and can transmit an input signal indicatingselection of the image to the control processor 15. When the firstcommunication terminal 10 exchanges messages with another communicationterminal such as the second communication terminal 20, the userinterface 13 can accept operation input that is input by the user, suchas characters constituting the text of the message to be exchanged withthe other communication terminal.

The memory 14 stores a variety of information necessary for the firstcommunication terminal 10 to exchange messages with anothercommunication terminal, such as the second communication terminal 20,via the server 30. In particular, in this embodiment, when the firstcommunication terminal 10 exchanges messages with another communicationterminal, such as the second communication terminal 20, via the server30, the memory 14 stores an application for exchanging text, images, andthe like.

The control processor 15 performs a variety of control related to thefirst communication terminal 10. For example, based on operation inputby the user to the user interface 13, the control processor 15 performscontrol to transmit the first request for image transmission or the liketo the server 30 via the communication interface 11. The controlprocessor 15 also performs control to receive, via the communicationinterface 11, image data transmitted from the server 30. Based on theimage data received from the server 30, the control processor 15performs control to render and display an image at a predeterminedposition on the display 12. When the first communication terminal 10exchanges messages with another communication terminal, such as thesecond communication terminal 20, the control processor 15 performscontrol to transmit a request for text transmission to the server 30 viathe communication interface 11 based on operation input by the user tothe user interface 13. The control processor 15 then performs control toreceive, via the communication interface 11, text data transmitted fromthe server 30 and performs control to display text based on the receivedtext data at a predetermined position on the display 12.

The second communication terminal 20 includes a communication interface21, display 22, user interface 23, memory 24, and control processor 25.In general, while a message exchange application or the like is running,the second communication terminal 20 transmits text that is input by theuser, an image photographed or selected by the user, or the like toanother communication terminal, such as the first communication terminal10, via the server 30. In general, while the message exchangeapplication or the like is running, the second communication terminal 20also receives, via the server 30, data of text, an image, or the liketransmitted from another communication terminal, such as the firstcommunication terminal 10, to the server 30 and displays the receiveddata on the display 22. A configuration may also be adopted so that whenthe message exchange application is not running on the secondcommunication terminal 20, a notification is displayed on the secondcommunication terminal 20 to indicate that data of text, video, or thelike have been transmitted to the second communication terminal 20 fromanother communication terminal.

The functional components of the second communication terminal 20 mayhave a similar structure as the above-described communication interface11, display 12, user interface 13, memory 14, and control processor 15of the first communication terminal 10. Hence, a detailed explanation ofthese components is omitted.

Next, the information stored by the memories 14 and 24 in order for thefirst communication terminal 10 and the second communication terminal 20to exchange images is further described.

The memory 14 of the first communication terminal 10 stores eachassociation between a first image selected on the first communicationterminal 10 and the first request for image transmission to betransmitted from the first communication terminal 10 to the server 30 incorrespondence with the first image. The memory 24 of the secondcommunication terminal 20 stores each association between a second imageselected on the second communication terminal 20 and the second requestfor image transmission to be transmitted from the second communicationterminal 20 to the server 30 in correspondence with the second image.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate examples of the content of tables stored inthe memories 14 and 24. FIG. 2A illustrates a fictitious example ofassociations, in the memory 14, between first images selected on thefirst communication terminal 10 and first requests for imagetransmission corresponding to these first images. FIG. 2B illustrates afictitious example of associations, in the memory 24, between secondimages selected on the second communication terminal 20 and secondrequests for image transmission corresponding to these second images. InFIGS. 2A and 2B, the first images A1 to An and the second images B1 toBn may, as described above, each be an image of a character expressingthe user's emotion or the like. Accordingly, for example image A1 isactually an image of an illustration or the like, and this image isreferred to as A1 for the sake of convenience.

The first image and the second image may be considered to be imagestransmittable from the first communication terminal 10 or the secondcommunication terminal 20 to another communication terminal, with imagedata for these images being stored in advance in the memories 14 and 24.For example, on the first communication terminal 10, if the first image,for example, is downloaded and stored in the memory 14, then the firstimage can be transmitted to another communication terminal. On the otherhand, images that are not downloaded on the first communication terminal10 and are not stored in the memory 14 may be considered images thatcannot be transmitted to another communication terminal. As illustratedin FIGS. 2A and 2B, for example the first images A1 to An that aredownloaded on the first communication terminal 10 and stored in thememory 14 can be transmitted to another communication terminal, yetother images may be considered not to be transmittable to anothercommunication terminal.

When thus allowing for the transmission of an image downloaded onto acertain communication terminal to another communication terminal, forexample downloading of the image is preferably allowed by apredetermined condition being satisfied on the other communicationterminal. The predetermined condition to be satisfied on the othercommunication terminal may, for example, be that the same application asthe application on the certain communication terminal (the terminal thattransmits the image) is downloaded onto the other communication terminal(the terminal that is the communication partner).

Instead of actual image data, the first image and the second image maybe registered in the memories 14 and 24 as information indicating thatthe images can be transmitted from the first communication terminal 10or the second communication terminal 20 (for example, information onauthority for use). In other words, on the first communication terminal10, for example information indicating that the first image can betransmitted to another communication terminal (information on authorityfor use of the image) may be registered in the memory 14. In this case,on the first communication terminal 10, an image for which informationon authority for use is not registered in the memory 14 cannot betransmitted to another communication terminal. In this case, asillustrated in FIGS. 2A, for example in the first communication terminal10, the first images A1 to An for which authority for use is registeredin the memory 14 can be transmitted to another communication terminal,whereas other images cannot be transmitted to another communicationterminal.

In this way, on the first communication terminal 10 or the secondcommunication terminal 20, the images that can be transmitted to theother communication terminal may be restricted to certain images.Accordingly, in addition to images for which an indication of permissionfor use is registered in advance in the memories 14 and 24, the user ispreferably allowed to obtain authority for use of various types ofimages from, for example, Internet sites or the like. In this way, forexample by obtaining more first images, the user of the firstcommunication terminal 10 can transmit a greater variety of images tothe user of another communication terminal.

As described above, the data for displaying the first images and thesecond images (image data) may be stored in the memories of the firstcommunication terminal 10 and second communication terminal 20, or suchimage data may be stored by the server 30. By the server 30 thus storingimage data of the first images and the second images, it suffices forthe first communication terminal 10 and the second communicationterminal 20 to transmit, to the server 30, only a request for imagetransmission that identifies the image data to be transmitted to theother terminal. Therefore, in this case, the first communicationterminal 10 and the second communication terminal 20 do not need totransmit, to the server 30, the actual image data to be transmitted tothe other terminal. The following describes a configuration in which, inthe communication system 1, the server 30 stores image data of the firstimages and the second images.

Even in the case that the server 30 stores image data, and image dataare not included in the first or second request for image transmission,for the sake of convenience, expressions such as “transmit an image”from the communication terminal to another communication terminal viathe server are used in this disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, in the memory 14 of the first communicationterminal 10, first requests for image transmission A1 r to Anrtransmitted to the server 30 are associated with first images A1 to Anselected by the user of the first communication terminal 10. Similarly,as illustrated in FIG. 2B, in the memory 24 of the second communicationterminal 20, second requests for image transmission B1 r to Bnrtransmitted to the server 30 are associated with second images B1 to Bnselected by the user of the second communication terminal 20. By storingsuch an association table, the first communication terminal 10 and thesecond communication terminal 20 can identify the request for imagetransmission corresponding to the selected image and transmit therequest for image transmission to the server 30.

For example, upon the user selecting the first image A1 on the firstcommunication terminal 10, the control processor 15 performs control totransmit the first request for image transmission A1 r corresponding tothe first image A1 to the server 30 via the communication interface 11.When prompting the user to select the first image on the firstcommunication terminal 10, the plurality of first images are preferablydisplayed so as to make it easy for the user to select one. For example,the plurality of first images may be displayed by listing the names ofthe first images as character strings on the display 12, by displayingreductions of the first images, such as thumbnails, or by displaying thefirst images at actual size or enlarged. After thus displaying the firstimages on the display 12 to allow for selection, the first communicationterminal 10 accepts input in which the user selects the first image byoperating the user interface 13. For example, upon the user selectingthe second image B3 on the second communication terminal 20, the controlprocessor 25 performs control to transmit the second request for imagetransmission B3 r corresponding to the second image B3 to the server 30via the communication interface 21.

Next, the structure of the server 30 is described.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the server 30 includes a communicationinterface 31, memory 32, and control processor 33. In general, theserver 30 receives requests for image transmission and the like fromcommunication terminals such as the first communication terminal 10 andthe second communication terminal 20. In general, the server 30 alsotransmits image data corresponding to the received requests for imagetransmission to communication terminals such as the first communicationterminal 10 and the second communication terminal 20. In thecommunication system 1, when the first communication terminal 10 or thesecond communication terminal 20 exchanges messages with anothercommunication terminal, in general, the server 30 receives requests fortext transmission from a communication terminal such as the firstcommunication terminal 10 or the second communication terminal 20. Inthis case, the server 30 transmits text data corresponding to thereceived requests for text transmission to a communication terminal suchas the first communication terminal 10 and the second communicationterminal 20.

The communication interface 31 communicates with the first communicationterminal 10 and the second communication terminal 20 with a connectionthat is wireless, wired, or both. Specifically, in this embodiment, viacontrol by the control processor 33, the communication interface 31receives the first or second request for image transmission transmittedfrom the first communication terminal 10 or the second communicationterminal 20. Furthermore, via control by the control processor 33, thecommunication interface 31 reads image data corresponding to thereceived request for image transmission from the memory 32 and transmitsthe image data to either or both of the first communication terminal 10and the second communication terminal 20. The communication interface 31preferably transmits image data corresponding to the received requestfor image transmission to both the first communication terminal 10 andthe second communication terminal 20. Furthermore, as described below,via control by the control processor 33, the communication interface 31in this embodiment transmits image data (third image data) correspondingto a combination of received requests for image transmission to thefirst communication terminal 10 and the second communication terminal 20in a predetermined case.

The memory 32 stores a variety of information necessary for the server30 to provide a function allowing communication terminals such as thefirst communication terminal 10 and the second communication terminal 20to exchange messages.

In particular, in this embodiment, the memory 32 stores thecorrespondence relationships between requests for image transmission andimage data so that, when the first or second request for imagetransmission is received, the image data that are to be transmitted inresponse to the request for image transmission can be identified. Thearea, in the memory 32, for storing such correspondence relationshipsbetween the requests for image transmission and the image data is, forthe sake of convenience, referred to as an image correspondence table321.

In this embodiment, the memory 32 also stores various types of imagedata transmitted from the server 30 to the first communication terminal10 or the second communication terminal 20 in response to a request forimage transmission. The area, in the memory 32, for storing such imagedata is, for the sake of convenience, referred to as image data 322.

FIG. 3 illustrates a fictitious example of information stored as theimage correspondence table 321 in the memory 32. As illustrated in FIG.3 , the image correspondence table 321 stores each association between arequest for image transmission received by the server 30 from the firstcommunication terminal 10 or the second communication terminal 20 andthe image data to be transmitted by the server 30 to the communicationterminal upon receipt of the request for image transmission.

For the sake of convenience, the image data that the server 30 transmitsto at least the second communication terminal 20 in response to thefirst request for image transmission transmitted to the server 30 fromthe first communication terminal 10 are referred to as “first imagedata”. Furthermore, the image data that the server 30 transmits to atleast the first communication terminal 10 in response to the secondrequest for image transmission transmitted to the server 30 from thesecond communication terminal 20 are referred to as “second image data”.

For example, upon receiving the first request for image transmission A1r from the first communication terminal 10, the server 30 transmits theimage data A1 d corresponding to the first request for imagetransmission A1 r to at least the second communication terminal 20 asthe first image data. Furthermore, for example upon receiving the firstrequest for image transmission A2 r from the first communicationterminal 10, the server 30 transmits the image data A2 d correspondingto the first request for image transmission A2 r to at least the secondcommunication terminal 20 as the first image data. For example uponreceiving the second request for image transmission B3 r from the secondcommunication terminal 20, the server 30 transmits the image data B3 dcorresponding to the second request for image transmission B3 r to atleast the first communication terminal 10 as the second image data.

FIG. 4 illustrates a fictitious example of information stored as theimage data 322 in the memory 32. As illustrated in FIG. 4 , among theimage data 322, the image data belonging to each group of image data arestored with a filename for identifying the image data. For example, inFIG. 4 , the image data A1 d belonging to the first group of image data322-1 can for example be treated as image data with the filename A1 d,indicating that the image A1 is displayed by rendering an image based onthe image data A1 d.

In FIG. 4 , the first group of image data 322-1 forms a collection ofcandidates for the first image data to transmit to at least the secondcommunication terminal 20 when the server 30 receives the first requestfor image transmission from the first communication terminal 10. Inother words, the first communication terminal 10 can, based on userselection, transmit any image data among the first image data A1 d, A2d, . . . , And stored in the first group of image data 322-1 to thesecond communication terminal 20 via the server 30. Similarly, thesecond communication terminal 20 can, based on user selection, transmitany image data among the second image data B1 d, B2 d, . . . , Bndstored in the second group of image data 322-2 to the firstcommunication terminal 10 via the server 30.

In this way, by storing the image correspondence table 321 and the imagedata 322 in the memory 32, the server 30 can, when receiving a requestfor image transmission from a communication terminal, read the imagedata corresponding to the request and transmit the image data to acommunication terminal. The second communication terminal 20 can thenreceive the first image data corresponding to the first request forimage transmission from the server 30 and display the first image basedon the first image data on the display 22. The first communicationterminal 10 can also receive the second image data corresponding to thesecond request for image transmission from the server 30 and display thesecond image based on the second image data on the display 12.

In this embodiment, when the first request for image transmission andthe second request for image transmission are a predeterminedcombination, the server 30 transmits third image data corresponding tothe predetermined combination to the first communication terminal 10 andthe second communication terminal 20. In other words, in thecommunication system 1 of this embodiment, when the first imagetransmitted by the first communication terminal 10 to the secondcommunication terminal 20 and the second image transmitted by the secondcommunication terminal 20 to the first communication terminal 10 are apredetermined combination, another image is transmitted to thesecommunication terminals.

In the image correspondence table 321 described with reference to FIG. 3, the third image data at the right end indicate third image data thatthe server 30 transmits when the first request for image transmissionand the second request for image transmission are a predeterminedcombination, as described above. In FIG. 3 , the first request for imagetransmission and second request for image transmission located on thesame line form a predetermined combination, and the third image dataalso located on the same line are the third image data corresponding tothis combination. On the other hand, in FIG. 3 , a first request forimage transmission and a second request for image transmission notlocated on the same line do not form a predetermined combination, and inthis case, there are no third image data.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3 , when the server 30 receives thefirst request for image transmission A1 r from the first communicationterminal 10 and then receives the second request for image transmissionB1 r from the second communication terminal 20, the server 30 transmitsthe third image data C1 d to the first communication terminal 10 and thesecond communication terminal 20. When the server 30 receives the firstrequest for image transmission A3 r from the first communicationterminal 10 and then receives the second request for image transmissionB3 r from the second communication terminal 20, the server 30 transmitsthe third image data C3 d to the first communication terminal 10 and thesecond communication terminal 20. On the other hand, when the server 30receives the first request for image transmission A1 r from the firstcommunication terminal 10 and then receives the second request for imagetransmission B3 r from the second communication terminal 20, the server30 does not transmit third image data.

In the image data 322 described in FIG. 4 , the third group of imagedata 322-3 forms a collection of candidates for the above-describedthird image data. As illustrated in FIG. 4 , among the image data 322,each set of image data belonging to the third group of image data isstored with a filename for identifying the image data in correspondencewith a predetermined combination of the first request for imagetransmission and the second request for image transmission. For example,in FIG. 4 , the image data C2 d belonging to the third group of imagedata 322-3 can for example be treated as image data with the filename C2d, indicating that the image C2 is displayed by rendering an image basedon the image data C2 d. In this way, the image that is rendered based onthe third image data is referred to as the “third image”.

The third image is preferably set to be an image that continues alongwith the above-described first image and second image and suggests somesort of cause-and-effect relationship between the first image and thesecond image. For example, suppose that when the first image is anillustration of a character handing someone some sort of present, thesecond image is an illustration of another character receiving thepresent. In this case, the third image may be an illustration of boththe character handing over the present and the character receiving thepresent, with both characters expressing joy together. Further supposethat, for example, when the first image is an illustration of acharacter handing someone some sort of present, the second image is anillustration of another character refusing the present. In this case,the third image may be an illustration of the receiving characterrefusing the present, with the character who tried to give the presentlooking sad. Furthermore, for example when the first image is anillustration of a character handing someone some sort of present, andthe second image is a completely unrelated illustration, the third imageis not shown.

In this way, in this embodiment, when a second image is transmitted fromthe second communication terminal 20 in response to the first imagetransmitted from the first communication terminal 10, an imagetransmitted by neither the first communication terminal 10 nor thesecond communication terminal 20 can be further received. Hence, in thecommunication system 1 according to this embodiment, image exchange notonly allows for a mere unilateral expression of the users' emotions, butcan also add elements of entertainment and surprise to what unfoldsafter image exchange. The communication system 1 according to thisembodiment can therefore be expected to stimulate the users' interestand further increase the users' motivation to exchange messages.

Next, the communication sequence in the communication system 1 isdescribed along with a specific example of image display.

FIG. 5 is a representative example of a communication sequence in thecommunication system 1. FIGS. 6A to 8 illustrate examples of imagesdisplayed on the display 12 in the first communication terminal 10 andthe display 22 in the second communication terminal 20. The followingdescribes an example in which the first communication terminal 10 firsttransmits an image to the second communication terminal 20, and thesecond communication terminal 20 transmits an image in response to thefirst communication terminal 10. In FIGS. 6A to 8 , the user of thefirst communication terminal 10 is named mai, and the user of the secondcommunication terminal is named taro.

When exchanging images in the communication system 1, first, asillustrated in FIG. 5 , the first communication terminal 10 acceptsoperation input selecting an image that the user mai wishes to transmitto her communication partner taro (second communication terminal 20)(step S11).

In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, the display 12 of the firstcommunication terminal 10 preferably displays a screen for selecting animage to transmit to the second communication terminal 20 and promptsthe user to select an image to transmit. The drawing to the left side inFIG. 6A represents a screen displaying a window for selecting atransmission image at the top part of the display 12 (image selectionwindow) and prompting the user to select one of images (1) to (6). Inthis drawing, only image (5) is illustrated, yet different images (1) to(6) are actually displayed. When there are more than six images to bedisplayed in the image selection window, a measure may be taken such asallowing the user to scroll the images displayed in the window to changeto another image. On such a screen, the user is allowed to select theimage to transmit to the second communication terminal 20 by, forexample, operating a key or button or by touching (tapping) the touchpanel. At this point in time, it is assumed that no image is beingdisplayed on the display 22 of the second communication terminal 20, asillustrated in the drawing at the right side in FIG. 6A.

Once the operation input to select the image to be transmitted iscomplete in step S11, the first communication terminal 10 transmits thefirst request for image transmission corresponding to the selected imageto the server 30 (step S12).

Upon receiving the first request for image transmission transmitted fromthe first communication terminal 10 in step S12, the server 30 transmitsthe first image data corresponding to the first request for imagetransmission to at least the second communication terminal 20 (step S13to step S14).

Upon receiving the first image data transmitted from the server 30 instep S13 to step S14, the second communication terminal 20 displays thefirst image on the display 22 based on the first image data (step S15).As a result, as illustrated in the drawing on the right side of FIG. 6B,the first image transmitted by the first communication terminal 10 isdisplayed on the display 22 of the second communication terminal 20.

As described above, when transmitting the first image data in step S13,the server 30 preferably transmits the first image data not only to thesecond communication terminal 20 (step S14), but also to the firstcommunication terminal 10 (step S13 to step S16). In this way, on thefirst communication terminal 10 as well, the same image that wastransmitted to the second communication terminal 20 can be displayed onthe display 12 (step S17). As a result, as illustrated in the drawing onthe left side of FIG. 6B, the first image that mai herself transmittedis displayed on the display 12 of the first communication terminal 10.When the memory 14 of the first communication terminal 10 stores thefirst image data corresponding to the first request for imagetransmission transmitted from the first communication terminal 10, thefirst communication terminal 10 can perform the operation in step S17without passing through step S16.

For the sake of convenience, the above steps S11 through S17 arereferred to as the first sequence. In the example illustrated in FIGS.6A and 6B, in the first sequence, an image in which a character isasking for a hug is transmitted from the first communication terminal 10to the second communication terminal 20 and displayed on the secondcommunication terminal 20. As illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the imagethat mai herself transmitted is displayed as a history on the firstcommunication terminal 10.

When displaying the exchanged images on the displays 12 and 22, theimages transmitted from the communication partner are preferablydisplayed in an area always on the same side (for example, the left sideof the screen), and the images that users themselves transmit are alsopreferably displayed in an area always on the same side (for example,the right side of the screen). Thus displaying images that usersthemselves have transmitted and images received from someone else inseparate areas allows for a user-friendly screen configuration that willnot confuse the user.

The following describes the case in which the user of the secondcommunication terminal 20, who has seen the image transmitted from theserver 30 by the first communication terminal 10, returns a second imagein response to the transmitted first image.

As illustrated in FIG. 5 , the second communication terminal 20 acceptsoperation input to select an image that the user taro wants to transmitto his communication partner mai (first communication terminal 10) (stepS21).

In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the display 22 of the secondcommunication terminal 20 preferably displays a screen for selecting animage to transmit to the first communication terminal 10 and prompts theuser to select an image to transmit. The drawing to the right side inFIG. 7A represents a screen displaying an image selection window at thetop part of the display 22 and prompting the user to select one ofimages (1) to (6). In this drawing, only image (1) is illustrated, yetdifferent images (1) to (6) are actually displayed. On such a screen,the user is allowed to select the image to transmit to the firstcommunication terminal 10 by, for example, operating a key or button orby touching (tapping) the touch panel. At this point in time, it isassumed that the image that mai just transmitted is being displayed onthe display 12 of the first communication terminal 10, as illustrated inthe drawing at the left side in FIG. 7A.

Once the operation input to select the image to be transmitted iscomplete in step S21, the second communication terminal 20 transmits thesecond request for image transmission corresponding to the selectedimage to the server 30 (step S22).

Upon receiving the second request for image transmission transmittedfrom the second communication terminal 20 in step S22, the server 30transmits the second image data corresponding to the second request forimage transmission to at least the first communication terminal 10 (stepS23 to step S24).

Upon receiving the second image data transmitted from the server 30 instep S23 to step S24, the first communication terminal 10 displays thesecond image on the display 12 based on the second image data (stepS25). As a result, as illustrated in the drawing on the left side ofFIG. 7B, the second image transmitted by the second communicationterminal 20 is displayed on the display 12 of the first communicationterminal 10.

As described above, when transmitting the second image data in step S23,the server 30 preferably transmits the second image data not only to thefirst communication terminal 10 (step S24), but also to the secondcommunication terminal 20 (step S23 to step S26). In this way, on thesecond communication terminal 20 as well, the same image that wastransmitted to the first communication terminal 10 can be displayed onthe display 22 (step S27). As a result, as illustrated in the drawing onthe right side of FIG. 7B, the second image that taro himselftransmitted is displayed on the display 22 of the second communicationterminal 20. When the memory 24 of the second communication terminal 20stores the second image data corresponding to the second request forimage transmission transmitted from the second communication terminal20, the second communication terminal 20 can perform the operation instep S27 without passing through step S26. In order to make the historyof image exchange more easily viewable on the communication terminal,the display of the first image is preferably scrolled upward on thedisplays 12 and 22 to further display the second image, as illustratedin FIG. 7B.

For the sake of convenience, the above steps S21 through S27 arereferred to as the second sequence. In the example illustrated in FIGS.7A and 7B, in the second sequence, an image in which another characterresponds to the first character's hug is transmitted from the secondcommunication terminal 20 to the first communication terminal 10 anddisplayed on the first communication terminal 10. As illustrated inFIGS. 7A and 7B, the image that taro himself transmitted is displayed asa history on the second communication terminal 20.

Next, when the first request for image transmission from the firstcommunication terminal 10 (step S12) and the second request for imagetransmission from the second communication terminal 20 (step S22) are apredetermined combination, the server 30 transmits third image datacorresponding to the combination (step S31). In step S31, the server 30transmits third image data corresponding to the predeterminedcombination to the first communication terminal 10 (step S32) and thesecond communication terminal 20 (step S34).

Upon receiving the third image data transmitted from the server 30 instep S32, the first communication terminal 10 displays the third imageon the display 12 based on the third image data (step S33). Uponreceiving the third image data transmitted from the server 30 in stepS34, the second communication terminal 20 also displays the third imageon the display 22 based on the third image data (step S35). As a result,as illustrated in FIG. 8 , the third image transmitted from the server30 is displayed on the display 12 of the first communication terminal 10and the display 22 of the second communication terminal 20.

For the sake of convenience, the above steps S31 through S35 arereferred to as the third sequence. In the first sequence, an image inwhich a character is asking for a hug is displayed as the first image,and in the second sequence, an image in which another character respondsto the hug is displayed as the second image. Therefore, in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 8 , as the third sequence, an image in which both ofthe characters look happy is transmitted to both the first communicationterminal 10 and the second communication terminal 20 and displayed.

When thus displaying the third image on the displays 12 and 22, thethird image is preferably displayed in a different area (such as thelower central area of the screen) than the areas in which the imagetransmitted from the communication partner (for example, the left sideof the screen) and the image transmitted by the user (for example, theright side of the screen) are displayed. Thus displaying the third imagein a separate area from the images that users themselves havetransmitted and the images received from someone else allows for auser-friendly screen configuration that will not confuse the user.

In this way, in this embodiment, upon receiving the first request forimage transmission and the second request for image transmission, ifthese requests for image transmission are a predetermined combination,the server 30 preferably transmits third image data corresponding to thepredetermined combination. When transmitting the third image data to thefirst communication terminal 10 and the second communication terminal20, the server 30 preferably transmits the third image data aftertransmitting the first image data to the second communication terminal20 and transmitting the second image data to the first communicationterminal 10.

In the above-described example, upon receiving the second request forimage transmission after the first request for image transmission, theserver 30 transmits the third image data in a predetermined case. Theserver 30 may, however, similarly transmit the third image data in apredetermined case not only when receiving the second request for imagetransmission after the first request for image transmission, but alsowhen receiving the first request for image transmission after the secondrequest for image transmission.

Alternatively, when receiving the first request for image transmissionafter the second request for image transmission, the server 30 may beconfigured not to transmit the third image data, or to transmitdifferent third image data, even when the requests for imagetransmission are a predetermined combination. For example, when thesecond request for image transmission associated with the first requestfor image transmission is not received, the server 30 may transmit thirdimage data indicating that the communication partner did not return animage corresponding to the image that the user transmitted. In thiscase, in the image correspondence table 321 described with reference toFIG. 3 , third image data are associated or not associated, or differentthird image data are associated, in accordance with the order in whichthe server 30 receives requests for image transmission, even for thesame predetermined combination. Furthermore, in the image data 322described with reference to FIG. 4 as well, different third image dataare stored in accordance with the order in which the server 30 receivesthe requests for image transmission.

In this embodiment, the user is preferably not allowed to acquire theright to use the third image data. With this approach, the user of thecommunication terminal can only view the third image by exchangingimages, thereby further increasing the user's motivation to use thecommunication system 1 of this embodiment. The right for the firstcommunication terminal 10 and the second communication terminal 20 touse the third images that have been displayed once on the firstcommunication terminal 10 and the second communication terminal 20 maybe registered on the server 30. With this approach, a third image thathas appeared once can subsequently be used freely, which can be expectedto further increase the user's motivation to use the communicationsystem 1 of this embodiment.

In this embodiment, a variety of conditions for identifying the thirdimage data that the server 30 transmits may be envisioned.

For instance, in the example described with reference to FIG. 3 , whenthe first request for image transmission and the second request forimage transmission are a predetermined combination, the server 30transmits third image data corresponding to the predeterminedcombination. In other words, based on the combination of the firstrequest for image transmission and the second request for imagetransmission, the third image data are identified. As illustrated inFIG. 3 , however, since the request for image transmission and the imagedata are associated, the third image data may be identified based on thecombination of the first image data and the second image data. In otherwords, when the first request for image transmission and the secondrequest for image transmission are a predetermined combination, theserver 30 may determine the third image data based on the combination ofthe first image data and the second image data.

The group of image data described with reference to FIG. 4 may also be acollection of image data related to characters appearing in a particularanimated cartoon, comic book, or the like. In this case, when the firstimage data corresponding to the first request for image transmission andthe second image data corresponding to the second request for imagetransmission are characters appearing in the same comic book or thelike, or are corresponding (related) characters, the server 30 transmitsthe third image.

In this case, as the first group of image data, the server 30 stores thegroup of image data to which the first image data corresponding to thefirst request for image transmission belong, and as the second group ofimage data, the server 30 stores the group of image data to which thesecond image data corresponding to the second request for imagetransmission belong. The server 30 then transmits the third image datawhen the first group of image data, to which the first image datacorresponding to the first request for image transmission belong, andthe second group of image data, to which the second image datacorresponding to the second request for image transmission belong, arethe same group of image data or are corresponding groups of image data.The third image data transmitted in this case are preferably image datadetermined based on the combination of the first image data and thesecond image data.

Furthermore, the first request for image transmission and the secondrequest for image transmission need not be associated one-to-one withthe corresponding third image data. In other words, it suffices touniquely identify the corresponding third image data based on thecombination of the first request for image transmission and the secondrequest for image transmission.

Therefore, for example as illustrated in FIG. 9 , a tag that can be akeyword or the like may be associated with each of a plurality of setsof image data included in the first group of image data to which thefirst image data belong. In the image correspondence table 321-1illustrated in FIG. 9 , a tag is associated with each set of first imagedata. Furthermore, in the image correspondence table 321-2, a tag isassociated with each set of second image data, and in the imagecorrespondence table 321-3, a tag is associated with each set of thirdimage data. Based on such tags, the corresponding third image data canbe transmitted when the tag associated with the first image datacorresponding to the first request for image transmission is identicalor corresponds to the tag associated with the second image datacorresponding to the second request for image transmission.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9 , the tag T1 is attached to thefirst image data A1 d corresponding to the first request for imagetransmission, and the tag T5 is attached to the second image data B1 dcorresponding to the second request for image transmission. Therefore,in this case, the server 30 does not transmit the third image data. Onthe other hand, if the first image data corresponding to the firstrequest for image transmission is A1 d and the second image datacorresponding to the second request for image transmission is B2 d, thensince the tag for both sets of image data is T1, the server 30 may beconfigured to transmit the third image data C1 d in this case.

Furthermore, in the example illustrated in FIG. 9 , the tags are merelysymbols, yet these tags may be keywords such as “happy”, “fun”, “sad”,“uneasy”, or the like. When managing such tags as keywords, thecorresponding third image data may be transmitted not only when the tagsattached to the image data corresponding to the first and secondrequests for image transmission match, but also when the tags arerelated, such as “happy” and “fun”.

When using tags in this way, the server 30 associates a tag with eachset of image data included in the first group of image data to which thefirst image data belong. Similarly, the server 30 associates a tag witheach set of image data included in the second group of image data towhich the second image data belong. The server 30 then transmits thethird image data when the tag associated with the first image datacorresponding to the first request for image transmission is identicalor corresponds to the tag associated with the second image datacorresponding to the second request for image transmission. The thirdimage data that are transmitted in this case are preferably image datacorresponding to the identical or corresponding tags. With thisapproach, the elements of entertainment and surprise during imageexchange can be increased.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 9 , only one tag is associated witheach set of image data A1 d, B1 d, and so on, yet for example aplurality of tags may be associated with the second image data. Forexample, the tag T1 may be associated with the first image data A1 d inthe table 321-1 illustrated in FIG. 9 , and the tags T4 and T1 may beassociated with the second image data B3 d in the table 321-2illustrated in FIG. 9 . In such circumstances, when a second request forimage transmission corresponding to either image data B2 d or B3 d istransmitted in response to the first image data A1 d, the server 30transmits the third image data C1 d corresponding to the tag T1.

Embodiment 2

Next, a communication system according to Embodiment 2 of thisdisclosure is described.

In Embodiment 2, the third image that is displayed is varied byassociating an element of time with the image exchange in Embodiment 1.

For example, if the time interval from when the server 30 receives thefirst request for image transmission to when the server 30 receives thesecond request for image transmission is relatively long, it may beassumed that a reasonable length of time has elapsed from when the usertransmitted the first request for image transmission until the user thatis the communication partner transmitted the second request for imagetransmission. In such a case, considering how the users that areexchanging images have started to lose interest in the image exchange, aconfiguration may be adopted so as not to transmit the third image datawhen the interval between transmission of the first and the secondrequests for image transmission exceeds a predetermined length of time.Conversely, if the time interval from when the server 30 receives thefirst request for image transmission to when the server 30 receives thesecond request for image transmission is relatively short, it may beassumed that immediately after the user transmitted the first requestfor image transmission, the user that is the communication partnertransmitted the second request for image transmission. In this case, forexample as an incentive for the communication partner to respond quicklyto image exchange, different third image data may be transmitted inaccordance with the interval between the transmission of the first andsecond requests for image transmission.

In this case, the server 30 transmits the third image data when (i) thefirst request for image transmission and the second request for imagetransmission are a predetermined combination, and (ii) the intervalbetween receipt of the first request for image transmission and receiptof the second request for image transmission is within a predeterminedlength of time. The server 30 may also transmit different third imagedata in accordance with the time interval between receipt of the firstrequest for image transmission and receipt of the second request forimage transmission. When implementing this embodiment, the server 30needs to store, in the memory 32, associations between different thirdimage data and the corresponding interval from receipt of the firstrequest for image transmission until receipt of the second request forimage transmission.

With this approach, even if users exchange the same image, the thirdimage differs in accordance with the time interval of the exchange.Therefore, the effect of maintaining user interest in image exchange canbe expected. Hence, a further increase in the user's motivation to usethe communication system of Embodiment 2 can be expected.

On the other hand, for example even if the time interval from when theserver 30 receives the first request for image transmission to when theserver 30 receives the second request for image transmission isrelatively long, it may be the case that the other user was temporarilyunable to receive the first image data due to a network problem or thelike. In such a case, the other user might have transmitted the secondrequest for image transmission immediately after seeing the first image.

Some applications for message exchange allow the transmitting user toconfirm information on whether the communication partner has viewed atransmitted message. For example, during message exchange such as chat,when a transmitted message has been displayed on the (receiving side)communication terminal of the communication partner, the word “read”, amark indicating that the message has been read, or the like is displayedon the display in the (transmitting side) communication terminal of theuser.

Therefore, in Embodiment 2, the starting time for the above-describedtime interval may be the point in time, after the server 30 transmitsthe first image to the second communication terminal 20, at which a readmessage notification or other such information indicating that the firstimage has been displayed is received from the second communicationterminal 20. In this case, the server 30 transmits the third image datawhen the interval between the time of receipt from the secondcommunication terminal 20 of a notification indicating that the firstimage based on the first image data has been displayed (for example, aread message notification or the like) and the time of receipt of thesecond request for image transmission is within a predetermined lengthof time.

With this approach, the communication partner can indirectly beencouraged to return an image promptly in response to the transmittedimage. Hence, a further increase in the user's motivation to use thecommunication system of Embodiment 2 can be expected.

Embodiment 3

Next, a communication system according to Embodiment 3 of thisdisclosure is described.

In Embodiment 3, the third image that is displayed is varied inassociation with the number of image exchanges or the like in the imageexchange in Embodiment 1. In other words, Embodiment 3 replaces theelement of time in Embodiment 2 with an element of frequency of imageexchange.

In Embodiment 1, an example of receiving the second request for imagetransmission after the first request for image transmission wasdescribed. During actual message exchange, however, it is envisionedthat text messages will also be exchanged between exchanges of images.It is also conceivable that after the first request for imagetransmission, the server 30 may receive a second request for imagetransmission not forming a predetermined combination one or more timesand then receive a second request for image transmission that forms apredetermined combination.

Therefore, assuming such cases, Embodiment 3 prescribes the number ofexchanges of images or text allowed between receipt, by the server 30,of the first request for image transmission and the second request forimage transmission that form a predetermined combination fortransmitting the third image data. In this case, the server 30 maytransmit the third image data when, between the first request for imagetransmission and the second request for image transmission, the numberof times that a request for image transmission or request for texttransmission is received from the first communication terminal 10 or thesecond communication terminal 20 is within a predetermined number.

If the allowed number of image or text exchanges is set to anexcessively high number, the third image may be displayed out of theblue after a variety of images have been exchanged and the users havealready lost interest in the first and second images. Accordingly,during regular use, it is considered preferable to set the allowablenumber of image or text exchanges to a relatively small number, such astwo or three.

This approach can be expected to provide the communication partner withan incentive to respond quickly to a transmitted image, withoutexchanging images or text with little relevance.

In Embodiment 1, text exchange is not described in detail as a form ofmessage exchange, yet such text exchange may be implemented with atechnique similar to a known message exchange, such as chat.Furthermore, text exchange may be implemented by replacing the word“image” in Embodiment 1 with “text” that is constituted by a characterstring or the like. In this case, first text data are included in therequest for text transmission transmitted from the first communicationterminal 10 to the server 30. Upon receiving the first request for texttransmission, the server 30 transmits the first text data to the secondcommunication terminal 20. When receiving the first text data from theserver 30, the second communication terminal 20 displays first textbased on the first text data on the display 22.

As in Embodiment 2, a different third image may be displayed inaccordance with the number of times an image or text is exchanged fromwhen the server 30 receives the first request for image transmissionuntil the server 30 receives the second request for image transmission.In this case, the server 30 may transmit different third image data inaccordance with the number of times, between the first request for imagetransmission and the second request for image transmission, that arequest for image transmission or request for text transmission isreceived from the first communication terminal 10 or the secondcommunication terminal 20. When implementing this embodiment as well,the server 30 needs to store, in the memory 32, associations betweendifferent third image data and the corresponding number of times that animage or text is exchanged from receipt of the first request for imagetransmission until receipt of the second request for image transmission.

With this approach, even if the images that users exchange are the sameas before, the third image differs in accordance with the number oftimes an image or a message is exchanged between the exchange of imagesthat form a predetermined combination. Therefore, the effect ofmaintaining user interest in image exchange can be expected. Hence, afurther increase in the user's motivation to use the communicationsystem of Embodiment 3 can be expected.

Embodiment 4

Next, a communication system according to Embodiment 4 of thisdisclosure is described.

Embodiment 4 adds a lottery-like mechanism to the image exchange inEmbodiment 1. In other words, Embodiment 4 adds a gaming element inwhich the user transmitting an image designates a correct choice inadvance, and the user receiving the image attempts to guess thedesignated correct choice from among available choices.

In Embodiment 4, the first communication terminal 10 (the sidetransmitting an image) transmits, to the server 30, a first request forimage transmission that includes the choice that the user has selectedin advance as the correct choice. After the second communicationterminal 20 (side that receives the image) receives the first image datacorresponding to the first request for image transmission, the userselects an image that the user thinks is the correct choice from amongthe attached choices. The second communication terminal 20 thentransmits the selected image to the server 30 as the second request forimage transmission. After receiving the second request for imagetransmission, the server 30 transmits the corresponding third image data(for example, image data indicating that the choice was correct) whenthe correct choice selected on the first communication terminal 10 andthe choice selected on the second communication terminal 20 match.Conversely, when the correct choice selected on the first communicationterminal 10 does not match the choice selected on the secondcommunication terminal 20, the server 30 either does not transmit thethird image data or transmits third image data indicating that thechoice was incorrect.

In this case, the first communication terminal 10 transmits, to theserver 30, first selection data representing a choice on the firstcommunication terminal 10 from among the choices suggested by the firstimage based on the first image data corresponding to the first requestfor image transmission. The second communication terminal 20 transmits,to the server 30, second image data corresponding to the second requestfor image transmission as second selection data representing a choice onthe second communication terminal 20 from among the choices suggested bythe first image. The server 30 transmits different third image data inaccordance with whether the choice represented by the first selectiondata and the choice represented by the second selection data match.

FIGS. 10A to 10E illustrate a specific example of image display inEmbodiment 4. Like FIGS. 6A through 8 , FIGS. 10A to 10E illustrateexamples of screens displayed on the display 12 in the firstcommunication terminal 10 and the display 22 in the second communicationterminal 20.

As illustrated in FIG. 10A, in Embodiment 4, once the first image isselected by the user, choices corresponding to the first image aredisplayed on the display 12 of the first communication terminal 10. Theexample illustrated in FIG. 10A shows a state in which the user hasselected image (4). Image (4) is an illustration in which a characterrepresents a feeling such as “I'm hungry”. The choices corresponding toimage (4) are “meat”, “sushi”, and “candy”, which are displayed aschoices of foods that the user wants to eat. In sum, in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 10A, the user mai of the first communicationterminal 10 makes the user taro of the second communication terminal 20answer a quiz about what mai wants to eat.

The actual display of these choices is preferably not in the form ofwriting, but rather images that suggest the content represented by thechoices. Furthermore, these choices may be prescribed in advance, or theuser may be allowed to select several from among a larger number ofchoices. The number of choices is not limited to being three.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 10A, it is assumed that the user maiof the first communication terminal 10 has selected “candy” from amongthe choices corresponding to image (4). The first communication terminal10 then transmits information (first selection data) indicating that“candy” was selected from among the choices along with the first requestfor image transmission to the server 30. Upon receiving the firstrequest for image transmission, the server 30 transmits the first imagedata corresponding to the first request for image transmission to thesecond communication terminal 20 along with the corresponding choices.

Upon receiving the first image data, the second communication terminal20 displays the first image corresponding to the first image data alongwith the corresponding choices on the display 22 of the secondcommunication terminal 20, as illustrated in FIG. 10B, and prompts theuser taro of the second communication terminal 20 to make a selectionfrom among the choices.

In the screen display in FIG. 10B, assume that the user taro expects“candy” to be the correct choice from among the choices of “meat”,“sushi”, and “candy” and selects the image of “candy”. The secondcommunication terminal 20 then treats the image data of “candy”, whichis the second image data, as second selection data and transmits thesecond request for image transmission to the server 30.

Upon receiving the second request for image transmission, the server 30transmits the image data of “candy”, which is the second image data, toat least the first communication terminal 10 and preferably to thesecond communication terminal 20 as well. FIG. 10C illustrates a statein which the second communication terminal 20, which has received thesecond image data, displays the second image “candy” based on the secondimage data on the display 22.

In this case, the choice represented by the first selection data and thechoice represented by the second selection data match, since both are“candy”. Therefore, as the third image, the server 30 transmits data ofan image indicating that the choice was correct to the firstcommunication terminal 10 and the second communication terminal 20. FIG.10D illustrates a state in which the second communication terminal 20,which has received the third image data, displays the third image basedon the third image data on the display 22.

On the other hand, in the screen display in FIG. 10B, assume that theuser taro expects “meat” to be the correct choice from among the choicesof “meat”, “sushi”, and “candy” and selects the image of “meat”. Thesecond communication terminal 20 then treats the image data of “meat”,which is the second image data, as second selection data and transmitsthe second request for image transmission to the server 30. Uponreceiving the second request for image transmission, the server 30transmits the image data of “meat”, which is the second image data, toat least the first communication terminal 10 and preferably to thesecond communication terminal 20 as well.

In this case, the choice represented by the first selection data,“candy”, and the choice represented by the second selection data,“meat”, do not match. Therefore, as the third image, the server 30transmits data of an image indicating that the choice was incorrect tothe first communication terminal 10 and the second communicationterminal 20. FIG. 10E illustrates a state in which the secondcommunication terminal 20, which has received the third image data,displays the third image based on the third image data on the display22.

By thus adding a lottery-like gaming element to image exchange inEmbodiment 4, an element of entertainment is added, and a furtherincrease in the user's motivation to use the communication system ofEmbodiment 4 can be expected.

In Embodiment 4, each time the user of the second communication terminal20 consecutively selects the correct choice that was selected by theuser of the first communication terminal 10, the image or animationdisplayed as the third image may become more elaborate.

The following further describes the effects of the disclosedcommunication system.

According to the disclosed communication system, the effect ofstrengthening the emotional connection between users that exchangeimages using the communication system can be expected. In other words,according to the disclosed communication system, if communicating userscan appropriately infer each other's feelings and exchange images thatmatch those feelings, a new development that heightens such mutualfeelings is provided. Accordingly, it can be expected that after suchimage exchange, users will have the impression of being emotionallyconnected.

In conventional message exchange, a user transmits text, images, or thelike unilaterally to another user. Therefore, users can transmit textthat represents their emotions in writing, or images, such asillustrations, that match their feelings, to the other user. However,users merely transmit such text or images to each other. According tothe disclosed communication system, a new image is provided based on theimages that users transmit to each other, thereby stimulating theinterest of users that exchange messages and increasing the users'motivation to exchange messages.

Although the disclosed embodiments have been described based on drawingsand examples, it is to be noted that various changes and modificationswill be apparent to those skilled in the art based on this disclosure.Therefore, such changes and modifications are to be understood asincluded within the scope of this disclosure. For example, the functionsand the like included in the various functional components, means,steps, and the like may be reordered in any logically consistent way.Furthermore, functional components, steps, and the like may be combinedinto one or divided. Also, the disclosed embodiments are not limited tobeing implemented exactly as described above, and characteristicsthereof may be combined as appropriate.

For example, in the above explanation, a communication system isdisclosed, yet this disclosure is not limited to a communication systemand may also be applied to a method of controlling a communicationsystem such as the one described above. This disclosure may also beapplied to a server in a communication system such as the one describedabove and to a method of controlling such a server. Furthermore, thisdisclosure may be applied to a program executed on a computer (such as acontrol processor of the communication terminal) that controls acommunication terminal communicating with another communication terminalvia a server.

In the above embodiments, it is assumed that when the first request forimage transmission and the second request for image transmission are apredetermined combination, the third image data are transmittedimmediately. However, the timing at which the third image data aretransmitted from the server 30 and the timing at which the third imagebased on the third image data is displayed on the first communicationterminal 10 and the second communication terminal 20 may be set freely.For example, the third image may be displayed once a predeterminedlength of time has passed from display of the second image on the firstcommunication terminal 10 or the second communication terminal 20.Furthermore, in each communication terminal, even if the third imagedata have already been received, display of the third image may bedelayed until launching of the application for exchanging images. Inparticular, when the third image is an animated video or the like, thevideo may be played back based on user input, and the user may beallowed to replay the video.

In the above embodiments, the determination of whether to transmit thethird image data from the server 30 is made based on the balance betweenthe first request for image transmission and the second request forimage transmission. As a modification to the disclosed embodiments,however, the determination of whether to transmit the third image datamay, for example, be made based on combinations of first requests forimage transmission that are transmitted consecutively to the server 30from the first communication terminal 10. In other words, not only whena plurality of users are exchanging messages, but also when a certainuser transmits images consecutively, the third image may be displayedbased on a combination of these images.

Two users exchange images in the above embodiments, yet three or moreusers may exchange images, and three or more communication terminals maybe performing the image exchange.

Furthermore, in the above embodiments, after the third image isdisplayed, another set of third image data may be provided in responseto transmission, to the server 30, of a request for image transmissioncorresponding to an image that forms a predetermined combination withthe first or the second image.

In the above embodiments, after the third image is displayed, image datacorresponding to fourth image data, for example, may be further providedin response to transmission, to the server 30, of a request for imagetransmission corresponding to an image that forms a predeterminedcombination with the third image.

In Embodiment 4, the server is described as determining whether thechoices represented by the selection data transmitted from thecommunication terminals match. This disclosure is not, however, limitedto such an embodiment. For example, a configuration may be adopted totransmit the selection data from one communication terminal to anothercommunication terminal via the server 30, and the other communicationterminal may determine whether the choices represented by the selectiondata of the communication terminals match.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   1 Communication system    -   10 First communication terminal    -   11 Communication interface    -   12 Display    -   13 User interface    -   14 Memory    -   15 Control processor    -   20 Second communication terminal    -   21 Communication interface    -   22 Display    -   23 User interface    -   24 Memory    -   25 Control processor    -   30 Server (message exchange server)    -   31 Communication interface    -   32 Memory    -   321 Image correspondence table    -   322 Image data    -   33 Control processor

1. A system comprising: circuitry configured to transmit a first imagetransmission request to a server communicating with a firstcommunication terminal, transmit second image data corresponding to asecond image transmission request received by the server from a secondcommunication terminal in communication with the server, and in a casethat the first image transmission request and the second imagetransmission request are in a predetermined combination, receive, at thefirst communication terminal, third image data corresponding to thepredetermined combination from the server.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the predetermined combination is determined based on tags storedin an image correspondence table storing various combinations and athird image data indicated as corresponding to each of the variouscombinations.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the predeterminedcombination is determined by combining a first tag corresponding tofirst image data corresponding to the first image transmission requestand a second tag corresponding to the second image data and determiningwhich of the third image data corresponds to the combination of thefirst tag and the second tag.
 4. The system of claim 3, where the tagsinclude keywords representing characteristics of the corresponding oneof the first and second image data.
 5. The system of claim 4, whereinthe keywords include emotions representing a feeling of a user.
 6. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein first image data corresponding to the firstimage transmission request, the second image data, and the third imagedata are displayed at a same time on a display of a user.
 7. The systemof claim 6, wherein the third image data is displayed below the firstimage data and the second image data on the display.
 8. The system ofclaim 7, wherein the third image data is displayed below the first imagedata and the second image data on the display within a window on thedisplay in which the first and second image data are also displayed. 9.The system of claim 3, wherein the third image data is different fromthe first and second image data.
 10. The system of claim 3, wherein thethird image data is a combination of the first and second image data.11. A method comprising: transmitting a first image transmission requestto a server communicating with a first communication terminal,transmitting second image data corresponding to a second imagetransmission request received by the server from a second communicationterminal in communication with the server, and in a case that the firstimage transmission request and the second image transmission request arein a predetermined combination, receiving, at the first communicationterminal, third image data corresponding to the predeterminedcombination from the server.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising determining the predetermined combination based on tagsstored in an image correspondence table storing various combinations anda third image data indicated as corresponding to each of the variouscombinations.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising determiningthe predetermined combination by combining a first tag corresponding tofirst image data corresponding to the first image transmission requestand a second tag corresponding to the second image data and determiningwhich of the third image data corresponds to the combination of thefirst tag and the second tag.
 14. The method of claim 13, where the tagsinclude keywords representing characteristics of the corresponding oneof the first and second image data.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereinthe keywords include emotions representing a feeling of a user.
 16. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising displaying first image datacorresponding to the first image transmission request, the second imagedata, and the third image data at a same time on a display of a user.17. The method of claim 16, further comprising displaying the thirdimage data below the first image data and the second image data on thedisplay.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the third image data isdifferent from the first and second image data.
 19. The method of claim13, wherein the third image data is a combination of the first andsecond image data.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumincluding a program causing, which when executed by first and secondcommunication terminals causes the first and second communicationterminals to implement a method comprising: transmitting a first imagetransmission request to a server communicating with the firstcommunication terminal, transmitting second image data corresponding toa second image transmission request received by the server from thesecond communication terminal in communication with the server, and in acase that the first image transmission request and the second imagetransmission request are in a predetermined combination, receiving, atthe first communication terminal, third image data corresponding to thepredetermined combination from the server.
 21. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium including a program causing, which whenexecuted by a server causes the server to implement a method comprising:receiving a first image transmission request from a first communicationterminal, transmitting second image data corresponding to a second imagetransmission request from a second communication terminal incommunication with the server, and in a case that the first imagetransmission request and the second image transmission request are in apredetermined combination, transmitting, to the first communicationterminal, third image data corresponding to the predeterminedcombination.
 22. A server, comprising: processing circuitry configuredto: receive a first image transmission request from a firstcommunication terminal, transmit second image data corresponding to asecond image transmission request from a second communication terminalin communication with the server, and in a case that the first imagetransmission request and the second image transmission request are in apredetermined combination, transmit, to the first communicationterminal, third image data corresponding to the predeterminedcombination.